There've been many discussions on this in the past. Here's one that stands out to me not so much because it answers your production questions but because it gives a good reason to use baker's yeast -- contamination avoidance:

Thanks for the link. I recall actually reading that one as well a few years ago but have since forgotten. Perhaps there are other factors that's keeping my culture from growing. I'll keep browsing for the answer.

I've not used any type of yeast but I can tell you I started using raw cheap white button mushroom pieces and the springtails are going nuts over them.

I have experimented with various mushrooms and the cheap white mushrooms are the ones my springtails enjoy the most.
Something else that I found with my research is CO2 can build up and be a factor in slowing growth. I bought a small battery operated hand fan and blow fresh air in twice a week when I feed them. My cultures have been doing much better since I started doing this.

I have experimented with various mushrooms and the cheap white mushrooms are the ones my springtails enjoy the most.
Something else that I found with my research is CO2 can build up and be a factor in slowing growth. I bought a small battery operated hand fan and blow fresh air in twice a week when I feed them. My cultures have been doing much better since I started doing this.

Yes, I had a few crashes in the beginning that might was due to high co2/low oxygen. Always when the cultures was blooming at its best. I solved this with making ventilation holes to the container. I use resuable coffe filter as a mesh to cover the ventillation and stop the springs from escaping the container. Works really well now.

Most instructions say that springs dont need ventillation, buit in my experience it works much better with it than without.

Huh. I tried, for a while, using fabric vent lids and got only OK production. The cultures perked up when I went back to sealed lids.

I open my cultures every five days (magnetic calendar board works wonders for keeping track of all my reptile room tasks) to add yeast and fan the culture very briefly with the lid, and feed off any booming cultures. If I go longer than ~10 days, the culture dies from CO2 buildup/lack of O2.

Huh. I tried, for a while, using fabric vent lids and got only OK production. The cultures perked up when I went back to sealed lids.

I open my cultures every five days (magnetic calendar board works wonders for keeping track of all my reptile room tasks) to add yeast and fan the culture very briefly with the lid, and feed off any booming cultures. If I go longer than ~10 days, the culture dies from CO2 buildup/lack of O2.

Opening the cx under 10 days would be my minimum. Sure they can stay 'sealed' for a number of days. I cannot fathom how production would increase due to lack of airflow.

But we are talking the average new hobbyist here. Some people don't check or feed their cxs for a couple weeks or even closer to a month.

They can eat a lot more than most people think also. I feed them every week or 5 days if they are booming.

I use fleishmans as well. And yes they can eat a lot more than people think. I feed my cultures a couple of times a week.

I put a couple of 2" x 2" pieces of unprinted corrugates cardboard to harvest easily. The springs hide in the channels of the corrugated cardboard by the thousands. Just pick up the cardboard and tap the springs exactly where you want them. I have found I prefer to harvest this way.

I use pinprick holes in the tops of my containers or loose fitting lids.

While this works and virtually eliminates the risk of asphyxiation, I personally prefer to have fully sealed cultures. I have tried both ways. The reason I prefer a sealed culture is that I don't want escapees. I know the escapees wont survive long outside their cultures, and I'm not concerned about them becoming pests within my house. But the escapees always seem to make it to my isopod cultures and establish a population, and I can't stand when that happens.

" pieces of unprinted corrugates cardboard to harvest easily. The springs hide in the channels of the corrugated cardboard by the thousands. Just pick up the cardboard and tap the springs exactly where you want them. I have found I prefer to harvest this way.

Thank you for this, it's exactly what I've been searching for. I thought about using a piece of food like banana as "bait", but this seems a lot better.

Seems like yeast and powdered baby milk work great for me. The springs need a lot of calcium.

The calcium requirement is news to me.

I'm feeding them yeast now with a vent. The next experiment is with dough risen with yeast and sugar. This might help with propagating yeast while allowing the option of storing the rest in the freezer for later use.

Thank you for this, it's exactly what I've been searching for. I thought about using a piece of food like banana as "bait", but this seems a lot better.

Glad I can help. You can also try a clump of tree fern fiber, but I still prefer the cardboard.

The advantages of the treefern are that it last for a very long time, much longer than the cardboard, which I replace every couple of weeks. The disadvantage with treefern is that springs get everywhere including on your hands and you can't pinpoint with great accuracy where you want the springs to land.

To harvest, I got a small snap tight container from the Dollar Store and drilled two holes. Get two pieces of tubing and silicone into each hole to make airtight. Then you just suck on one end like a straw and put the other in the culture near the springtails and basically vacuum them out. Springs stay locked in the container until I get to the tank and I dump them in. This is my favorite method so far.

While this works and virtually eliminates the risk of asphyxiation, I personally prefer to have fully sealed cultures. I have tried both ways. The reason I prefer a sealed culture is that I don't want escapees. I know the escapees wont survive long outside their cultures, and I'm not concerned about them becoming pests within my house. But the escapees always seem to make it to my isopod cultures and establish a population, and I can't stand when that happens.

Interesting. I don't have any isopod cultures, so maybe that's why I've never noticed an escape. I also only have a single pinprick, so maybe the number of escapees is just extremely low.